San Angelo Police: How to Avoid Becoming Victims of Online Scammers

SAN ANGELO, TX –– As online scammers continue to target millions of Americans, the San Angelo Police Department has released tips to stay safe online.

Don’t fall victim to scam giveaways, contests, and surveys.

• If it’s too good to be true then it probably isn’t true. 
• If it’s a post that you are tagged in with multiple people regarding money it’s more than likely illegitimate. 
• If it requires you to click on an external link and provide personal information then it’s more than likely a scam.
• If the profile is new, has limited friends, one profile picture or no picture, has no transaction history, and a variety of other signs that the person is not real. It’s probably best you don’t conduct any transactions of any sort with them.
• If you receive a friend request from a duplicate profile of a friend already on your friend list then it is more than likely fake.

Verify with the friend that they didn’t make a new profile and report said profile if it’s learned to be fake.

Don’t give out information regarding your Credit/Debit cards online unless you verify that you giving this information to a credible business/person.

Do your due diligence and research when it comes to disclosing personal information or doing any kind of transactions online.